Jul 1, 2010

The High Line

New York City's Wild Side

By Lisa T. Bergren

I’d heard about the High Line park a couple of years ago—how it was an abandoned, elevated freight train track that had literally “gone to seed,” with trees shoulder high and all kinds of bush and grass having a heyday. Proof that Nature will trump Man every time, given a chance. So when I heard NY do-gooders adopted the track and professionally landscaped it, I knew I wanted to see the special park during our NYC weekend.

At one time, this track was built to keep dangerous freight trains off of Manhattan’s crowded streets. There had been so many accidents, that 10^th Avenue was nicknamed Death Avenue. Men on horses, called “West Side Cowboys,” used to ride in front of the trains, waving red flags, warning off traffic.

Because it went through city blocks, rather than directly over avenues like the subway, trains were able to go right into factory buildings to load cargo: milk and meat, produce and powdered sugar, and more. Interstate trucking gradually reduced the need for the track, and the last shipment in 1980 was three car loads of frozen turkeys (that’s a whole lotta Thanksgiving dinners).

The track, with periodic views of the Hudson, was purchased by Friends of the High Line in 1999. Later, all the wild weeds of Section 1 were torn out, the structure was waterproofed and an irrigation system added. Beds were planted, and in 2009, it opened to the public. Now the spikes, beams and rusting rails emerge from swaths of swaying, green grass, mounds of golden daisies, spires of purple flowers. The construction work is artful, with a concrete drainage system and reinforcements that run parallel to the old rails.

The park ends on Gansevoort Street where a section was demolished in the 1960s—it’s a nice place to begin/complete your walk, because you can fully appreciate the structure by studying it from ground level.

It takes about twenty minutes to walk from beginning to end, longer if you want to lounge on one of the lovely, slope-backed wooden benches in the sun or indulge in gourmet ginger gelato from a park-top vendor.

I’m eager to see Section 2 to 30^th Street, which will include a Woodland Flyover (elevated section through a grove of Sumac trees) and the 23^rd Street Lawn, though it’s cool to see the raw beginnings of it right now (visible from W23^rd Street). It helps visitors appreciate what went into the current Section 1.

Section 2 is projected to open in 2011, although, from the looks of it, they have a lot to accomplish. The final segment, Section 3, will come later, as the nonprofit gains funds, and will truly make this park an amazing place to get to know W. Manhattan and Chelsea.

Here’s what our teen thought of our visit to the Highline…and below you’ll find more of our favorite pics from the park.

Have you spent time on the High Line? What’d you think? Please comment below.